Hanoi (VNA) - The Vietnam Women’s Union (VWU) and Unilever Vietnam International Co., Ltd. (Unilever Vietnam) convened a conference on March 23 to review their cooperation agreement for the 2022 - 2025 period, spotlighting key successes, effective grassroots models, and orientations for future collaboration.
In those years, the collaboration established itself as a flagship public - private partnership empowering more than 100,000 Vietnamese women, particularly those in rural and underserved areas, by enhancing economic opportunities, improving health, and raising overall quality of life.
It rests on three key pillars. The first seeks to raise awareness and change behaviours in hygiene, health, environment, and build happy, thriving and civilised families. The second focuses on fostering economic empowerment through entrepreneurship support, job creation, and income generation. The third bolsters social welfare by aiding women and families vulnerable to natural disasters and social changes.
VWU Vice President Nguyen Thi Thu Hien said as a socio-political organisation representing and protecting the legitimate rights and interests of Vietnamese women, the VWU has effectively teamed up with domestic and foreign partners to drive comprehensive progress for women, improve living standards and empowerment.
She noted that partnership with Unilever Vietnam extended to VWU’s chapters in 21 cities and provinces nationwide during 2022-2025, delivering diverse and practical activities closely attuned to local realities, and touching the lives of over 100,000 women in rural and disadvantaged areas.
Le Thi Hong Nhi, Vice Director for Communications, Corporate Affairs and Sustainability at Unilever Vietnam, described the noticeable changes in health consciousness and everyday behaviour that have followed the hygiene and nutrition campaigns, especially in rural and disadvantaged areas.
Key highlights include the “Clean village – Building healthy hygiene habits with Women” event series, which provided free health check-ups, medical consultations, handwashing instruction, and hygiene education for disease prevention.
Another notable one was training on safe, scientific household sanitation tailored to family circumstances, which not only enhanced living conditions but also promoted family care models tied to hygiene, creating sustainable livelihood opportunities for women in the care economy.
On the economic empowerment front - a core pillar of the partnership, tens of thousands of women gained access to business knowledge, financial resources, and entrepreneurial skills, enabling improved livelihoods, higher incomes, and greater economic independence.
The “Vietnamese women are confident in doing business” training course, covering entrepreneurship, financial management, and household economic models, was rolled out widely across localities. Since 2022, it has disbursed startup funding for 137 projects worth over 2 billion VND (76,000 USD). Many have confidently started businesses, scaled up operations, and contributed to local economic growth.
The “New Beginning Fund”, managed by provincial Women’s Unions, has continued offering loans to poor and vulnerable women for household economic activities, small enterprises, livestock, and farming, supporting sustainable livelihoods, green economy models, and women’s economic independence.
Looking ahead to 2026 - 2027, the VWU and Unilever Vietnam plan to scale up and deepen their joint programmes, focusing on sustainable livelihoods, adaptive capacity, and life quality improvements for Vietnamese women and families.
On the same day, a ceremony honoured outstanding startup ideas from the 2025 edition of the “Vietnamese women are confident in doing business” training course, recognising exemplary female entrepreneurs from Can Tho, An Giang, Nghe An, Vinh Long, and Ca Mau.
The competition, co-hosted by the VWU and Unilever Vietnam under the Sunlight brand, sought to celebrate creative, feasible, and sustainable startup ideas while encouraging women nationwide to proactively and confidently develop their economic capabilities.
Running from September to November 2025, it received nearly 200 entries at the provincial level. After a rigorous evaluation process, the judging panel selected 30 outstanding projects that exemplify innovation, adaptability, and the sustainable development aspirations of Vietnamese women./.
